Scholarship

Why are you doing this? I recently attended a pre-departure workshop on building cultural competence and was asked this question. Each of the twenty-five or so attendees shared with the group their reason for participating in their respective field schools. Feeling a bit on the spot, I answered the first thing that came to mind: "I have always wanted to go to another country and volunteer, especially with children, and thought it was a great opportunity to do so through my program of study (dental hygiene)". After the workshop, I started to think more about that question.

It’s April 30^th, the day before my trip to Costa Rica. In this Natural Resource Field School and Cultural Exchange class I will be experiencing and learning about how Costa Rica manages its natural resources and how this country balances the different land uses. Being that this is my first time leaving Canada, I am extremely excited about this opportunity. Preparing for this trip has been a new experience as well. Little things like applying for a passport, getting travel insurance, and taking a day-long Spanish class have been both interesting and overwhelming.

As a student who has never had the chance to live away from home before, I was not sure if I was ready to embark on a 10-month independent journey to a country where I could not speak the language. I have been asked frequently about the ideal length of time for an international exchange program but honestly, the answer to this question is subjective. I was really content studying abroad for two semesters. I took many things into consideration before deciding whether I should apply for one or two terms at the institution I wished to attend.

We are pleased to announce our 2016 Stories from Abroad: British Columbia Study Abroad Scholarship Winners!. Congratulations to:

1. Camille James, Vancouver Island University
2. Garrett Lakey, College of New Caledonia
3. Kira Daley, Langara College
4. Kyla Oshanek, Camosun College
5. Malavika Santhosh, Simon Fraser University
6. Shelby Anderton, Douglas College

Be sure to check out our student blog section regularly as our winners will be posting about their experiences abroad!

This semester I will be going on an international exchange through the University of Victoria to the Madrid, Spain where I will attend the University of Alcalá. I will live in the municipality of Alcalá de Henares for five months while I am attending school. I am so excited to embark on this amazing journey where I will experience a new culture, language and way of living.

Are you thinking of studying abroad in Taiwan? If you are, here's your chance to apply for the 2016 Taiwan Scholarship and 2016 Ministry of Education Huaya Enrichment Scholarship! 

More information can be found at the following links:

2016 Huayu Enrichment Scholarship

After seeing eight countries and eighteen different cities, I am finally back in Vancouver. I was quite sad to say goodbye to my apartment, friends, and my favorite city, Berlin. It was definitely a mixed feeling between excitement to see my family, especially my brother whom I had not seen for two years and his new wife; and sadness at leaving Berlin. 

Today I finished the last exam of my study abroad semester. I have three more weeks in the lovely city of Berlin and I can’t help but have all types of strong emotions. In Berlin, I found out who I really am, what I’m looking for, what I can’t stand, and what I wish to have. In Berlin, I found out what true happiness is. Most importantly, in Berlin, I found out how amazing it is to have a simple life.

The last few weeks of my trip were tiring and hard, but worth the effort for the work we were doing. For the last two weeks of the trip, we worked in schools with children in kindergarten to grade six mostly. These children have never had the opportunity to have their teeth cleaned. While we did not have the time or resources to clean each and every single child’s teeth, we were able to apply fluoride to help make their teeth stronger and decrease the chances of further decay from occurring. We also provided them with information on how to properly brush their teeth.

It is hard to prepare yourself for a different culture because you never really know what you are going to get. Before travelling to the Philippines, I did research, but it did not come close to preparing me for the culture shock I was about to experience.